Dubai Islamic Bank to start operations in city
Nairobi is among cities that Dubai Islamic Bank is targeting in its expansion plan.
The bank’s chief executive Dr Adnan Chilwan said they hoped to be in Nairobi before the end of the year.
“We are working on starting operations in Jakarta, Indonesia and Kenya. The bank has been working on these expansion plans for some time,” he said.
Outside the United Arab Emirates, DIB has a presence in Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Dubai Islamic Bank-Pakistan was established in 2006.
In Sudan, the bank has a 28.4 per cent stake in the Bank of Khartoum while in Jordan, it has made its presence through the Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank where it owns 20.8 per cent of shares.
DIB holds 27.3 per cent stake in Bosnia Bank International, which was established in 2000. It was the first bank in Europe to operate on the principles of Islamic banking.
Profits doubled
DIB, the largest sharia-compliant lender in the UAE announced last week the doubling of its first-quarter profits.
The bank made Dhs636.6 million (Sh15 billion) in the first three months of the year, it said in a statement to the stock exchange.
This was up from Dhs301.7 million (Sh7.5 billion) in the corresponding period of 2013.
Kenyan banks are increasingly offering Shariah-compliant or Islamic banking and DIB’s entry will add to the competition.